Looking closely: interpreting Rembrandt’s 'The abduction of Ganymede'

Special lecture by Dr Barbara Gaehtgens

The abduction of Ganymede 1635 – an early work by Rembrandt van Rijn – has puzzled many generations of Rembrandt scholars.

The painting illustrates the classical Greek myth of the abduction of Ganymede, most beautiful of male mortals, by an eagle-guised Zeus, who desires the beautiful youth as his cup bearer. The theme was not new in art and had been represented by many other artists, including Michelangelo and Peter Paul Rubens. Rembrandt’s representation is unusual, however, in that Ganymede is not a beautiful, ephebic nude but a screaming, urinating toddler, dressed in a linen smock, who is squirming to free himself from the scarf in which the eagle is carrying him.

An independent art historian based in Los Angeles, Dr Barbara Gaehtgens made her mark in art history with her book titled Deutscher Kunstverlag (1987) about Adriaen van der Werff, a painter who is little known today but in his time was among the most famous Dutch artists in Europe. She has also written numerous book essays and articles on Dutch, German and French art, in addition to editing a book on genre painting and co-authoring a book on the 19th-century German painter Max Liebermann. Her special interest is the relation between art and politics, and her talk on Rembrandt’s Ganymede will demonstrate that this strange painting may have a political significance.

The lecture is presented in association with the Undoing the Ancient research group at the Sydney Intellectual History Network.